Co-Worker Slaying Suspect Sought

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Co-Worker Slaying Suspect Sought

SACRAMENTO, California – A suspended security guard killed three co-workers and a fourth man, stopping during the rampage to call in threats to other employees at his former company, police said Sunday.

Police believe Joseph Ferguson, 20, went on the rampage late Saturday night and early Sunday, then handcuffed another guard and fled in her car. He remained at large Sunday and was believed to be armed and possibly wearing a bulletproof vest, said Sacramento Police spokesman Sgt. Daniel Hahn.

During the shooting spree, he allegedly called former co-workers and said he planned a rampage bloodier than one last month in which Ukrainian immigrant Nikolay Soltys allegedly killed six family members and his unborn child.

Ferguson said ``he was going to outdo Soltys, something along those lines,'' Hahn said.

Ferguson was suspended for unknown reasons last week from his job with Burns Security, Hahn said. Police said that in the cellular phone calls he threatened to kill his former co-workers and club- and movie-goers in the city's busy Old Sacramento district.

Police were checking out an alleged claim by Ferguson that he shot a person in a gold van. They said they also found white supremacist materials at Ferguson's home, but declined to elaborate. Police did not release the names or ethnicities of any of the victims.

Ferguson lived with his father, who police do not consider to be in danger. They said they were concerned for other employees Ferguson worked with at Burns Security.

``The people we believe are in immediate danger we have evacuated, so they're safe,'' Hahn said.

In Soltys' case, police had warned the Ukrainian community and Soltys' family that he could target them, and his relatives were put under surveillance. He was caught in his mother's back yard on Aug. 30 after a 10-day manhunt.

Soltys had allegedly slashed his pregnant wife's throat, then killed his aunt and uncle and their two 9-year-old grandchildren. His 3-year-old son was found dead days later. He was charged Tuesday with seven counts of murder.

Members of the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the California Highway Patrol were searching for Ferguson, said Sacramento Police Chief Arturo Venegas Jr.

Ferguson was believed to be driving a green car stolen from the former co-worker, who was left handcuffed to a tree at the Sacramento Zoo around 1:30 a.m. Sunday, Hahn said. The guard was unharmed.

At about 11:20 p.m., police responding to a report of shots fired at a city equipment yard found two bodies, both female uniformed Burns security guards. Soon after, they found two male victims dead at the Miller Park Marina, about 10 miles north. One of the men was a uniformed Burns guard, and the other appeared to be a worker at the Marina, Hahn said.

Police believe Ferguson took a Burns Security vehicle from the equipment yard and used it to crash through the zoo gates.

Police also are checking out a report that one of the slain women was Ferguson's ex-girlfriend, and that she may have warned the company that he was planning a rampage.

At this time we don't know the motive for the shooting,'' Hahn said.Obviously this person is probably not in a right frame of mind.''

All four victims were unarmed and riddled with gunshot wounds, Hahn said. Police found AK-47 rounds, shotgun rounds and 9 mm handgun shells at the crime scenes. Ferguson's father told police ``numerous weapons'' were missing from the home, Hahn said.

Venegas said police found a handgun at the first shooting scene and recovered an assault weapon at the marina.

Lonnie Basped, a neighbor of Ferguson's, said he was surprised by the news, and only saw the family when he was going to work in the morning.

It seems strange for things like that going on,'' he said.It makes me think about keeping my family secluded.''